The Kansas City Royals, in a very short time, have gone from the Penthouse ( World Series Champions) to The Whitehouse to the Outhouse ( A sub-.500 record and third place in the so-so AL Central).
Last week they visited the President at the Whitehouse and everybody smiled and posed for pictures. Gosh, they didn’t look like a team that can’t find a way to win. The Boys in Blue seemingly did not get involved in any email scandals. Perhaps they should have. It would have taken everybody’s mind off of the latest losing streak.
The Royals are smack dab in the middle of something that relates to something that Yogi Berra once said about winning and losing: “The other teams could make trouble for us if they win.” Folks, that’s right where these Whitehouse-visiting Royals find themselves. The other teams are making trouble for them because they are winning!
Along the way the Royals Brass found a way to anger Johnny Cueto. The Royals didn’t invite him to come along when they visited the White House. Cueto went 4-7 for the Royals last year after being picked up as playoff insurance from the Cincinnati Reds. He did go 2-1 in the postseason. “I believe I earned the right to be invited to The Whitehouse”, said Cueto.
The Royals stated that they had three conditions for the visit: a player had to be on the 2015 team ALL YEAR, on the active postseason roster and NOT on another team this year. Obviously, with Cueto now pitching in San Francisco, the Royals don’t care whether his feelings are hurt or not.
That’s the trouble with being just a “hired gun”. You get to be around for the shooting but you aren’t invited to the wake afterward!
I would like to take a moment to thumb my nose at a couple of “politically correct” situations that have popped up in the sports world. First, a big “BOO” to the National Basketball Association for removing the 2017 All-Star game from Charlotte, N.C. after the folks in the Tar Heel state upheld the “HB2” law, more popularly known as the “bathroom law”. The NBA should “butt out” when it comes to laws that individual states pass in votes by their citizens. They obviously haven’t taken the time to read the law. It IS NOT a discriminatory law but one that makes common sense, something that is missing with the NBA hierarchy. If I watched the NBA All Star Game- which I don’t-I would boycott it. Let’s all do the same.
The second example of political correctness gone wild is exhibited by the sister group, the Women’s National Basketball Association. They have a rule that says players will be fined for wearing anything other than regular uniforms and warm-ups during a game. Fair enough, but when some players showed up in black shirts showing solidarity for “Black Lives Matter”and were fined, those fines were later rescinded by WNBA President Lisa Borders stating, “We need to move forward”.
That’s more like moving “backward” Lisa. If you are going to have rules, enforce them OR don’t make silly rules. In addition, you need to apply them to everyone!
The words of former Senator Joseph McCarthy would be most applicable here: “That’s the most unheard-of thing I ever heard of.”
Charles Tabler is a contributing writer from Larned. He can be reached at budtabler@gmail.com.
